On This Day: The Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado August 28, 2008

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Today (all times Eastern)

10:0: The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing

1:0: White House Press Briefing

2:10: The President meets with HHS Secretary Burwell

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From All Your BTs – 27 Million Thank Yous, You Very Lovely People!

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Hoping to get back to R&S normal soon-ish, for now – keep on posting those stupendous links in the comments, thank you!

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On This Day

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama walks to his wife Michelle and children Malia and Sasha after his speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado August 28, 2008

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President Obama kayaks while spending time with friends at a beach in Edgartown, Mass., Aug. 28, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Aug. 28, 2013: “Chuck Kennedy worked with the National Park Service to be able to photograph from this angle at the Lincoln Memorial as the President, First Lady, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter walked to the stage during the ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) thinks his state should reform its liquor laws. That way, he argued, women would have an easier job making dinner.

Corbett made the argument in July during an appearance on The Sam Lesante Show. The clip of him making those comments were reposted Tuesday by the Democratic political PAC Fresh Start PA, which supports Corbett’s opponent Tom Wolf (D).

“I think a lot of people want to be able to walk into a grocery store,” Corbett said. “Particularly, a lot of the women, want to be able to go in and buy a bottle of wine for dinner, go down buy a six pack or two six packs, buy dinner, and go home. Rather than what I just described, is at least three stops, in Pennsylvania.”

CLAYTON, Mo. — The head of the Saint Louis County Police, who oversaw the crackdown on protests in nearby Ferguson shortly after a teenager was shot and killed by a police officer there, is defending the way his officers used military-style equipment even during peaceful daytime protests.

Chief Jon Belmar said Wednesday that in his opinion — as well as in the opinion of police chiefs around the country — much of the military-style equipment now used by police is necessary “because we patrol very urban areas.”

Belmar added that the St. Louis County Police had a responsibility to mitigate the threat of “serious crimes” and “certain terrorist events.” In practice, though, he said the equipment is used in armed barricade situations and, occasionally, in executing search warrants. He said he never anticipated he would ever use it against demonstrators.

This is such a good point HF. I have not heard a peep out of network & cable on this finding. As usual, there is breathless reporting on anything negative and crickets on anything positive. I don’t expect the Grand Dame of MSNBC to utter one word about this Inspector General report. It just doesn’t fit the narrative she and her ilk wants to portray.

Obama plans to work it this Labor Day.
The President will hit three fund-raisers over the holiday weekend and squeeze in some playtime at the wedding of the Obama family’s personal chef, Sam Kass, and his bride, MSNBC host Alex Wagner, followed by a trip to the US Open.

The President’s official schedule for the weekend includes two Friday fund-raiser in upstate New York. The first $32,000-a-plate event in Westchester has been dubbed a “Labor Day BBQ” and is hosted by ex-UBS CEO Robert Wolf. Wolf is a top campaign fund-raiser and was an Obama golf buddy during the President’s August vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.

Later in the night, Obama will attend a DNC round table with a select group of 25 attendees, paying $32,400 a piece for the presidential audience.

After the New York affair, the President heads north to the ritzy town of Newport, R.I., for a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event.

He will be back, likely with wife Michelle in tow, in New York in time for the Kass/Wagner wedding on Saturday at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills on Saturday, according to a report in the Talk of the Sound.

[snip]

On Sunday, the President and First Lady will attend the US Open before they return to Washington.

If you described everything that PBO has done for fellow Dems while engaging in non-stop foreign crises, MSM/GOP-manufactured scandalabras and MSM/GOP obstruction as a hypothetical, every active candidate in the US would say, “greatest President in my lifetime.”

I hope this silences all Dem candidates and emoprogs/emoputins who hopefully will wake up after Labor Day and realize that undermining the President means promoting/endorsing the alternative (i.e., RWNJs).

Apparently, DWS and Nancy Smash have been involved in an internal tussle re: DNC politics (who’s in charge of stuff.) I like both of them, so they need to get it together sooner, rather than later!! We need both of their voices.

I am speechless,almost. President Obama is tireless. President Obama is effective. president Obama is strategic. President Obama is the absolute master of What an Ideal President Is.

The President’s message I am hearing is, to friends and foes alike, is that “with you or without you I will do what the country needs. I will campaign vigorously to make the next Congress one I can work with. But no matter what the circumstances are, no matter how many challenges I face, I will not yield to cynicism or inertia. There’s a lot of work to be done and I Am On It!!”

Sam Wang is the only pollster who hasn’t sold out and the only one whose work I’ve been following this year. Forget all the rest. Paid off liars.

So far the predictions I’ve been making based on nothing more than my own opinions have been panning out. A minimum of 5 more Democratic governors will be installed: LePage in Maine. Gone. Scott in FL. Gone Corbett in PA. Gone. Walker in Wisconsin. Gone.
Brownback in KA. Gone. There are possibly a few more, I am obviously hoping to see Michelle Nunn and Wendy Davis win their races.

Democrats will hold the Senate.
Democrats will win 5-9 house seats, good. Not enough to take over, but any increase in numbers helps the President.

I have been listening to Stephanie Miller Show & they are bashing the DNC because they aren’t out there doing anything for the mid-terms. If my memory serves me right they did the same thing in 2010 & 2012. Can’t get it through their heads after Labor Day. We will start seeing action. I just shake my head. It’s all under the radar BBL

“the operator of the gun range where an instructor accidentally helped a nine year old girl kill him, when something caught my ear: Scarmardo said that shooting an uzi, “was high on her bucket list.”

Mr. 57 and I were talking about this this morning. He said the CW that this little girl will be scarred for life. I said what had been my fear since hearing this horrific story: this little girl will not be scarred in the way we think, that she will find justification for freedumb and ‘liberty’ and some such nonsense. She would be more in fear of being punished than she would feel the consequences of killing another human being with a weapon of death.

I don’t know this, of course. It is my FEAR, however, that the NRA and the GOP have morphed into a monster that is creating a generation and a nation of sociopaths. Where no death is more important than ‘rights’. There is no accountability – Stand your ground has taken away any legal consequences. And we now have a generation where a nine year old girl’s ‘bucket list’ wish is to shoot an Uzi. A weapon meant for one purpose: to gun down as many human beings as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Any nine year old who wants that needs therapy long before going to the gun range. And the fact that there are places where she can act out her sociopathic dreams is truly terrifying She apparently comes from a family who fosters these civilization-destroying beliefs.

This is what gets me. A 9 year old, simply put, should not be handling that weapon, or any weapon, as far as I am concerned. If a 9 year old has driving a Formula One race car on his/her bucket list, is that child ever going to be allowed to do so, even on a closed track? No.

One of the things about so many things with age limits involved is that, by creating that age limit, we are teaching our children that certain activities require a certain level of responsibility which a young child cannot have.

This doesn’t mean all people who reach the age of responsibility actually have the responsibility to participate in those activities, but their is a lesson in waiting.

It seems that weapon handling is the only major activity in which the concept of responsibility is crucial, but with which there is no real expectation of it, if we allow young children to participate in it.

As a result, young children don’t, unless they ahve parents who really push the concept, have any real sense of what, beyond the technical aspect, being involved with the use of weapons really means. And we know many parents don’t so we can;t expect them to teach their kids.

If an adult allows an underage child to drink, they are culpable and subjetc to charges. Not so with weapons.

A great ad campaign would be seeing a bunch of elementary kids with drinks (booze!) in their hands…saying something like “We would never THINK of allowing this…(then show a kid with a gun) and simply say…”But we allow THIS? ” Then link to common sense gun regulations… If you can stand up and breathe in AZ…you can own a weapon. That is really all it takes

My goddaughter is married to a man from OK, steeped in gun culture. He and his wife ‘discussed’ what was the appropriate age for their son to learn to shoot. He thought three years old was reasonable with the absurd conclusion that the boy would grow up, always knowing how to ‘safely’ use a gun.

No – their son will grow up thinking that a gun is a reasonable thing to use. A three year old barely doesn’t know how to not pee in his pants or cross a street, but put a gun in his hands?

These people are so dam crazy over their guns. I wonder if Jesus Christ were to say to them it’s me or those guns, I think those people would chose the guns. What kind of parents would let their 9 year old shoot an Uzi?

Kindergarteners and first graders (5 & 6 yr olds) have curriculums that include working on knowing the difference between what is real and what is fantasy (fact and fiction). Some have real problems identifying the difference. There are many developmental reasons for not allowing children to handle guns. They are not grown up and cannot handle the responsibility of guns. Safety courses that do not involve actual gun contact are more suitable. High schoolers under close supervision would be more age appropriate. Locking up arms and ammo separately is needed.

“Hi Alycee. I hope we will all be grateful for all that our Chips has given us in this beautiful space. I am so grateful for her, Nerdy, LL, Zizi, Amk, Lovely Plains, Donna Dem, Tally, Bobfr, DF, Judith, Don, CarolMae, Carolyn J’OB, JackieG, and all of our brilliant TOD family members from all over the world.

I have not been commenting much because of the difficulties with my medical jewels; but I quietly come in when I can just to make sure that I have all of you in my space. I have learned that it is better to move those wonderful gifts of the positives into my space as much as possible each day I am graced with the gift of life.

We all have been drained of our wells of goodness of our emotions in these last few weeks; however, we will not give in to despair. We have too many people all around this nation and the world who need our beautiful threads of loving humanity. We have been gifted with one of the most decent men walking amongst us, our President. But his gifts are not our gifts, and ours are not his; but if we all put our gifts of goodness alongside of his, we will make a glorious difference. I know that.

We must always remember where we have come in this journey. Remember how we started out? Sure we cannot forget that mess that was handed over to him; but he did not mumble but he moved in and immediately to continue to work on the mess. And he will work on it every day he is in the Oval Office. He does not quit. And we must not quit either. Our work continues. We just have to really put greater focus and determination on the finish line.

So continue to enjoy your family times together, and count the blessings there. But remember there is a family who may not have any of those blessings. Please do not ask me why because I have not figured that one out yet myself. But I do know that we here within this TOD family know what blessed means. We all have had our taste of it here. Just meeting each other here where Chips is the reason for this great meeting, that is a blessing in itself. So we give our graces of threads that run through this beautiful, gifted, brilliant TOD family and try with all of our might to help PBO weave a strong, compassionate, and just quilt of humanity for all people of this nation.

We cannot control the vile and evil deeds, words, and thoughts against this president, but we can surely keep our focus and make a strong statement in Nov. We know how we did it in 2008 and 2012, and we even have more young people who are of voting age, so let us show them and the world that we can bend the arch of justice by showing up now, and then to help this great president finish the job.

When we get weary, step into whatever light you may carry in your heart and walk, shout, sing, and do your goodness. Whatever lies within your inner sanctuary come out on this stage and do performance of your life. Tickets go on sale this very moment, so go ahead and purchase all that your soul will allow you to release so that a child, senior, service person, and middle class family can stand up with a little more pride and applaud themselves because we gave the performance of our life with the 44th President of the United States. Justice just wants a part of our performance;, and do not forget the part for feeding our homeless; our men and women who have given us protection while their families gave us their sacrifice, these all are our conscience for this great performance of our lifetime. Come on, pick up your scrip tonight, tomorrow, and study hard and show up Now because we have a Performance for Humanity to make right in Nov. Quiet on the set: We Are Here To Move Forward with PBO. ACTION. HZ”

Oh. It IS the same Lis Smith who did such a great job for Bill deBlasio until her personal relationship with eliot Spitzer was revealed and deBlasio let her go.
Now I am wondering if John del Cecato will be part of the MOM team. John did the “Dante” ad and the “Firms” ad that doomed Mitt.

When Rachel Maddow broke the guilty plea for The bribery scandal around the Bachmann incident when her Iowa campaign manager switched to Ron Paul last night left out the fact that Jesse Benton who worked for Ron Paul and is now McConnell’s campaign manager left out the fact that he was also working for RAND Paul during his campaign for Senate. They paid Kent Sorenson $73,000 for his vote.

1905 Sam Levene d. 1980 American actor, originated the Broadway roles of crap game operator Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls and Al Lewis of The Sunshine Boys.

1897 Charles Boyer d. 1978 French-born American actor. Film: Algiers (1938, in which his famous invitation to Hedy Lamarr, “Come with me to the Casbah” was used for the trailers – although it was not in the film itself). The cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew was based on his Pepe le Moko character in Algiers. He also co-founded Four-Star Television (1951).

1951 Robert Walker b. 1918 American actor. Film: Bataan (1943), The Clock (1945), and played the psychopathic killer in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951).

1943 Boris III b. 1894 King of Bulgaria (1918-43). In 1935 he established a virtual dictatorship.

1903 Frederick Law Olmsted b. 1822 American landscape architect. He designed New York’s Central Park and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

1798 James Wilson b. 1742 Scottish-born American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention of 1787, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1481 Alfonso V b. 1432 King of Portugal (1438-81).

876 Louis II b. circa 804 King of Germany (843-876), founder of the German kingdom.

“[President] Poroshenko appealed to Ukrainians for calm, unity and solidarity. “Military operations are taking place in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. They represent not only the liberation of the Donbas but also the defense of all of Ukraine. Right now, during these days, during these hours, the real struggle for the true independence of our country is taking place,” he stated.”

A loyal dog in India refused to leave a graveside for two weeks after the death of his teenage owner.

In an extraordinary display of loyalty, Tommy the dog went without food and water for 15 days and braved the hot days and cold nights in Chennai, southern India, as he guarded the burial site of his master, Bhaskar Shri, 18, who died in a car accident Aug. 2.

The young construction worker had adopted the dog five years ago and the two quickly became inseparable.

But when Bhaskar was killed in a car accident earlier this month, the pup couldn’t leave his side.

Snoopy about the Kass/Wagner wedding locale——looks like a serene, rural, pastoral setting——with real stone barns!—-a working farm and educational center–known for its farm to table fresh, delicious food——and educating about the consciousness of food choices. Seems fitting for Chef Kass. Best wishes—–think it’s a cute match-up.

Now, the cloak is off. And the Grimes campaign is seizing on the opening, explaining, “For the past 30 years, Kentuckians have questioned Mitch McConnell’s priorities, and now we have the hard evidence that his allegiances lie with his millionaire and billionaire donors at the expense of hardworking Kentuckians.”

Leading Anti-Marijuana Academics Are Paid by Painkiller Drug Companies

As Americans continue to embrace pot—as medicine and for recreational use—opponents are turning to a set of academic researchers to claim that policymakers should avoid relaxing restrictions around marijuana. It’s too dangerous, risky, and untested, they say. Just as drug company-funded research has become incredibly controversial in recent years, forcing major medical schools and journals to institute strict disclosure requirements, could there be a conflict of interest issue in the pot debate?

VICE has found that many of the researchers who have advocated against legalizing pot have also been on the payroll of leading pharmaceutical firms with products that could be easily replaced by using marijuana. When these individuals have been quoted in the media, their drug-industry ties have not been revealed.

Take, for example, Dr. Herbert Kleber of Columbia University. Kleber has impeccable academic credentials, and has been quoted in the press and in academic publications warning against the use of marijuana, which he stresses may cause wide-ranging addiction and public health issues. But when he’s writing anti-pot opinion pieces for CBS News, or being quoted by NPR and CNBC, what’s left unsaid is that Kleber has served as a paid consultant to leading prescription drug companies, including Purdue Pharma (the maker of OxyContin), Reckitt Benckiser (the producer of a painkiller called Nurofen), and Alkermes (the producer of a powerful new opioid called Zohydro).